Under the covers: Pilar Zeta

The designer behind Visonquest talks about her creative process.

If you've noticed the record sleeve designs of a certain type of house music are getting a bit more surreal, that's no coincidence. Labels like Visionquest, Mobilee and Supernature have all enlisted Pilar Zeta to craft their visual identity over the past few years. Her work is characterized by big, striking shapes, punctuated with a dash of the unexpected. Zeta's belief in the power of geometry is driven by her interest in Egypt and the metaphysical. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she also credits meditation as crucial to her creative process. It's working: Zeta has created some of the most distinctive electronic music design of the past few years.

I met Shaun [Reeves] five years ago, but actually they were all in Berlin when I moved here. We've always kind of been friends, and they were talking about doing Visionquest, so it came very naturally. They had ideas, so my first draft for the logo was just the eye, and it came together after looking at pyramids and concepts coming from Egypt. I take inspiration from ancient mythology and metaphysics, and with Visionquest what I wanted to do was try to bring it all together. With my work, it's just instant. I get the idea for something and I already know what color it will be. It's really intuitive. I don't change it often. For me, it has to be that one. That's how I always create.

I started meditating when I was 16, and I've studied it a lot. It's helped me manifest creativity. If I wake up and meditate, then I start working and the ideas come faster. If I don't meditate, then I feel a bit lazy or get distracted. Jimmy Edgar and I connect a lot through meditation. He gets inspiration through it as well, and if we meditate sometimes together it's much stronger. [The design for the Hotflush project was based on] Omni, which is this magazine from the '80s that focused on metaphysics. Jimmy and I have done a bunch of projects together. Right now I'm doing some tarot cards with some special designs with him.

I really love working with Mobilee. Anything I do, they are really happy with it. The first design I did for them was for a Pan-Pot record. I wanted to create something serious, with not too much color. The next ones were a different color and a different stroke, but always the same line. All of them have this mirror thing—it's a signature. When I started working with them I didn't want to come up with something completely crazy, but because they had this line, I wanted to slowly drive it into something more surrealistic like [Sebo K's] Mr. Duke.

When I first started working with Supernature, I designed the website. I imagined a Supernature land, which I imagined was really dusty and the colors are really, really soft—sand and pastel. All of the images for the releases have been based on Supernature land. I don't like things that are too busy; I like to combine really simple elements with pictures or a shape. Geometry, in general, is very simple so it's good not to ruin it. I can't say that I spend too much time working on things. I take two weeks to think about [a design] and knowing that I have to do it, I'll sit down and then know exactly what to do. And it's done. I always send the first thing that I do. I don't really do variations of things.

Oh my god, [flyers] were one of the biggest problems I had. Especially with clients. They always think that the logo needs to be massive. [I say to them] I decide how it will work, otherwise I'm not making a flyer for you. If I want to use a flyer for my portfolio, what I do is I open up the flyer and I make [the logos] even smaller. I think one of the biggest missions in graphic design for flyers is to make the text look nice. Right now, I have free will in most of my designs. The promoters all like me and my style. They let me make the lineup really, really small. [laughs]

Posted by Jacob_Replicaif you think the web should be a bastion of positivity maybe you should set a example & lay off sarcasm/namecalling. i say it like i see it cuz i think ppl who try to get paid off other ppl's compositions need to be reminded of the ever increasing likelihood of being put on blast on this big internet. i dunno wtf you're policing against so i'ma just keep staying 2 real 4 ur pot2kettle game

Posted by Jacob_Replicai say it like i see it cuz i think ppl who try to get paid off other ppl's compositions need to be reminded of the ever increasing likelihood of being put on blast on this big internet.

Good luck trying to sustain that perspective on an electronic music forum.